Rodent repellent binder cord



RODENT REPELLENT BINDER CORD Pranas Jncaitis, Chicago, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to International Harvester Company, Chicago, Ill.,.a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application December 23,1954.-

Serial No..477,412

SCIaims. (Cl.'117--1 38.5)'

This invention relates to rodent repellents; More in particular this inventionrelates to com or twine, having rodent repelling characteristics; for use in binding materials which may have some attraction. to rodents.

For example, in the binding of hay, straw or grain and. the like, the agricultural: industry has experienced much damage due torats or mice cutting the binding twine. or cord which not only results in loss of products but also substantially increases the labor necessary: in handling broken bales. a

The prime object of this invention isto provide'a treated cord or twine having the property of'efiectivel'y repelling rodents from attacking the cord ortwine for long periods of time.

Another object of this invention is'to provide an improvedcord or twine treatedto imparteflective rodent repelling properties which is resistant to mold; deterioration and does not harm the productibound-by -the cord ortwine. I

Still another object of thistinvention-is to provide an improved cord or twine treated to impart elfective rodent repelling properties wherein the repellent-agents are suitable for incorporation into ordinary twine'or'corl'd manufacturing operations; i

These and other objects oftheinventionwill become apparent from the following description-of preferred embodiments and the appended'cl'aim's.

As an approach'in the development of a solution to the problem many factors were consideredi'n addition to the usual cost considerations, ease of manufacture; transportation, use and handling as well as resistance to fungous deterioration. f

Generallyspeaki'ng rodenticides do. not present -a solution to the problem for even though such rodenticides are useful in causing death to; rodents, death-usua11y occurs after the damage to the twine or cord bound material. The objective is therefore to repel thQlfQdfiIlli either by the sense of taste or odor from causing damage in the first instance as distinguished from causing death after the occurrence of damage. Therefore much consideration was given to the psychological characteristics of rodents, particularly that of rats and mice. It is not known to any degree of exactness as to the underlying cause or causes which motivate rats or mice to cut binder cord. In developing suitable means for testing various com pounds or compositions to evaluate statistically their respective repellency the following psychological factors were considered. v

(1) Necessity for abrading material 'for grinding continuously growing incisor teeth.

(2) Heredity.

(3) Hunger motivation.

(4) Thirst.

(5) Chewing for pleasure.

(6) Claustrophobia.

(7) Sex motivation.

(8) Ordinary mischievousness.

(9) Age.

(10) Observation.

asaastt Patented Jan. 13, 1959 Having in mind the above factors-an experimental test cage was. designed and built specifically for the testing.

and statistically evaluating of balercord treated with rodent repelling compositions. The dimensions of the cage are 6' x l x 1 comprising six compartments each 1" x: 1- xi '1' connected together serially with a partition Y separating each compartment from its adjacent compartment.- Each partition between adjacent compartments contains a pair of doors heldzin closed position by meansv of springs attached to the cord under test. The cord under test is held in tension by a weight and is positioned to be completely accessible to the animal. Thus when the animal cuts the cord the weight drops and the spring opens a-door between two compartments. The sides and top of. the entire cage are made of transparent material for 'full observation. The bottom of each compartment is made of wire screen. Along the top of the cage are fluorescent lights which serve to obscure the observer from the animal and to provide illumination fo-rphotography. The entrance and exit doors are operated manually while the doors of the five partitions are operated by action of the animal on the cord. Electric timing devices were connected to the apparatus to record the cutting, action of the animals to facilitate statistical evaluation of the test results.

The working hypothesis for testing repellents. was to train rats to cut binder cord through hunger motivation.

Thus if rats were first trained to cut untreated. cord through associating the act of cutting with a reward of food, thenif the rats refused to cut arepellent treated cord, or-at least were deterredfrorn immediately cutting the cord, a degree of repellency exists. Rats selected for training quickly-learned that if, they cut the cord a doorway to the next compartment opened wherein they would find a small morsel of food as well as another cord positioned for subsequent cutting admitting them to the fol- Since each partition is provided with two doors, one of the associated cords may be repellent treated giving the animal a choice of two cords to cut. Thus neither, one, or both cords under test in a selected compartmentcould be treated with a repellent.-

It was found that rats trained as outlined above became so highly motivated that they would cut most cords treated with prospective repellent compounds or compositions, although in some instances their cutting speed was markedly reduced while in other instances the animals refused tocut the cord at all. Also it was found that a given repellent may be an excellent repellent with 'respect to one group of rats while it was only mildly effective against another group; This suggested that a good repellent may consist of more than one ingredient.

Now it is apparent that if highly motivated animals refuse, or at least are markedly deterred, to cut treated cord, then wild and untrained animals would not in all probability out such cord. Tests with wild and untrained rats indicated that such suppositionis confirmed in fact.

In testing twine. or cord treated with numerous compounds or cornpositions it was found that when cord.

was treated with up to 5% by weight of a primary amine having between 10 and 18 carbon atoms stabilized with an organic acid were notably good rodent repellents. The amines alone were also excellent rodent repellents but it appeared that the addition of the organic acid greatly enhanced the respective aging characteristics of the repellent without reducing the potency substantially. Thus when an organic acid was added to the amine the period of time for effective repellency was materially increased.

By way of illustration the following specific examples of the invention are described which proved to be excellent repellents having good aging characteristics,

Example 1 Binder cord treated to contain up to by weight of hexadecylamine stabilized by the addition of slightly more than a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid, such as, for example, butyric acid, salicylic acid, naphthenic acids, and the like.

Example 2 Binder cord treated to contain up to 5% by weight of dodecylamine stabilized by the additon of slightly more than a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid such as, for example, butyric acid, salicylic acid, naphthenic acids, and the like.

Example 3 Binder cord treated to contain up to 5% by weight of decylamine stabilized by the addition of slightly more than a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid such as, for example, butyric acid, salicylic acid, naphthenic acids, and the like.

Example 4 Binder cord treated to contain up to 5% by weight of octadecylamine stabilized by the addition of slightly more than a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid such as, for example, butyric acid, salicylic acid naphthenic acids, and the like I Example 5 where R and R may be hydrogen or alkyl groups including aryl substitute alkyl groups.

R is an alkyl group including aryl substituted alkyl group.

In the manufacture of twine or cord, particularly that of sisal base, an oil (generally referred to as twine oil) of light viscosity is usually used. The repellent compound or composition may conveniently be dissolved or dispersed in the oil so that a uniform disposition of the repellent on the cord or twine is obtained. As an alternative finished cord may be treated with the repellent by a suitable impregnating or coating operation. In the latter method a suitable vehicle may be necessary in some instances. However, in commercial scale twine and cord production it was found most convenient and economical to add the repellent in the oil required for cord manufacture While specific examples of the invention are disclosed herein, the invention is not limited solely thereto as the precise proportions of the materials utilized may be varied and other members of this class of rodent repellents may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A-binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of an amine having between to 18 carbon atoms having the gen- 5 eral formula:

l a R2-(?NH2 at where R and R are selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, aryl substituted alkyl radicals, and hydrogen, and

R is selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals and aryl substituted alkyl radicals and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of naphthenic acids, butyric acid and salicylic acid.

2. A' binder cord havingincorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of decylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of butyric acid, salicylic acid, and naphthenic acids.

3. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of dodecylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of buytric acid, salicylic acid, and naphthenic acids.

4. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of an efifective amount up to 5% of hexadecylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of butyric acid, salicylic acid, and naphthenic acids.

5. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of octadecylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of butyric acid, salicylic acid, and naphthenic cids.

6. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of beta-phenylethylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of butyric acid, salicylic acid, and naphthenic acids.

7. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of dodecylamine and substantially astoichiometric equivalent of naphthenic acids.

8. A binder cord having incorporated therein a rodent repelling composition consisting of an efiective amount up to 5% of hexadecylamine and substantially a stoichiometric equivalent of butyric acid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wilson et al.: Organic Chemistry in Pharmacy, Lippincott, Phila., 1949, pp. 40-41.

Bellack et al. in N.R.C.s Relationship Between Chem. Structure and Rat Repellency, May 8,

5s, 56, 57, 69, 7o, 71 and 72. 

1. A BINDER CORD HAVING INCORPORATED THEREIN A RODENT REPELLING COMPOSITION CONSISTING OF AN AMINE HAVING BETWEEN 10 TO 18 CARBON ATOMS HAVING THE GENERAL FORMULA 